The Art of Assassination
by Berserker88
Summary: Tired of Baboon's constant failures, Dragon hires a trio of assassins known as the Wu Sisters to kill Master Panda and end the war in his favor. How will the Valley fare against this new threat?
1. The Messanger

_Author's Note: Hello everyone. This is my first fanfiction, a sort-of crossover between Kung Fu Panda and Skunk Fu. I am very surprised that more people haven't made crossovers between these two works considering how obviously similar they are. I presume that is due to how obscure and (admittedly) mediocre Skunk Fu is, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine and I felt that this is a crossover that still deserved to happen._

_I also feel that there aren't enough fanfics featuring the Wu Sisters, so I'm hoping to hit two birds with one stone here. If you're wondering where this is supposed to fit into the KFP timeline, I would place it a year or two after the "Secrets of the Masters" special. Just know that it's well before the first movie._

_Anyway, on with the story._

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Chapter 1: The Messenger

Far on the outskirts of China lied the active Hubei Volcano. Few dared to go anywhere near the volcano, not just because it was a fiery deathtrap, but because it also housed the fortress of some of China's most dangerous criminals, a trio of clouded leopards known as the Wu Sisters. It was within this fortress that these three now sat around a stone table, contemplating their recent string of bad luck.

For many years, the Wu Sisters had been infamous for their exceptional kung fu skills and deadly coordination. They had built a solid reputation as the most feared and notorious villains who ever terrorized China.

Then they got their tails handed to them by three upstart street fighters.

It didn't take them very long to once again escape from prison, but the damage to their reputation was enormous. Even worse is that they were indirectly responsible for getting a large number of other criminals arrested, causing many to joke that they had ended up doing more good than harm for the Imperial Army. With their dream of conquering China crushed and not a single job offer for mercenary work, they had been forced to make a living for themselves through far less dignified means.

"Robbing caravans, breaking into houses, kidnapping children for ransom like petty bandits? This is _pathetic!_" growled Wing Wu, the middle sister.

Wing was known for her short temper and violent outbursts. It was rumored that the mask she wore over her mouth was a way to keep her from giving in to her primal urge to bite people in the throat. Despite this, she remained level-headed enough to complete a job efficiently.

"Don't be so negative, Wing. Cheer up, it could be worse," said Wan Wu, the youngest sister.

Wan was gifted with a bizarre tendency to see absolutely everything in a positive and cheerful light, which was especially odd considering the nature of their work. She saw it as her duty to keep her sisters in a good mood at all times. This was, of course, easier said than done.

Wing glared at her. "Please don't say that."

"It's true! I mean we still have each other, right? It's not all bad."

Watching this conversation was Su Wu, the eldest sister. She was instantly identifiable by her eyes: one gold, one blue, and both icy cold. Su was the most ruthless of the group, taking great pleasure in carrying out their contracts with the efficiency of a true professional.

She had to admit that Wan had a point. Despite their general lack of regard for most people or even their own country, the Wu Sisters would do just about anything for each other. When they were only cubs, they had made a vow to always stick together and they had yet to break it. Their signature attack, which they dubbed the "Wu Vortex", was based around that concept.

"I guess you're right," Su admitted, taking a sip from a cup of green tea she had brewed for herself. Not hearing a response, she looked back up to see Wan staring off into space, clearly distracted by something.

"What's wrong?"

Wan pointed across the room, causing Su to lift an eyebrow at the sight before her. It wasn't long until Wing took notice as well and decided to ask what they were all thinking.

"Why is there a naked monkey in our fortress?"

Indeed, standing just under the stone leopard head that marked the entrance to the fortress, was a small, black monkey wearing nothing but his own fur coat. The monkey was propped up against the wall catching his breath, probably from the exhausting journey up the volcano. After a few seconds, the monkey straightened up and walked over to the stunned Wu Sisters.

"Who the heck are you supposed to be?" Wing asked, unsheathing her claws. In response, the monkey began a stream of nonstop chattering noises that didn't sound remotely like actual words. Su sighed and looked back at her tea. "Just ignore him and I'm sure he'll go away."

He didn't.

It only took about eight more seconds of chattering before Wing lost what little patience she had and grabbed him by the throat. "_What _do you _want?!"_she snarled at him.

The monkey gave a nervous gulp and held out a small scroll that they only just noticed he was carrying. Su grabbed it out of his trembling hand and opened it up. "We're being hired for an assassination." She said with a slight smile.

Wan gave a much bigger one. "You see? What did I tell you? That's the power of positive thinking!"

Su looked over the rest of the scroll and read the contents out loud:

_Greetings, Wu Sisters._

_My name is Dragon. I am the ruler of a region known simply as Dragon's Mountain. I have long been at war with my neighboring region known as The Valley. Unfortunately, my attempts to defeat the Valley-dwellers have all ended in failure, thanks to my incompetent army of Ninja Monkeys, one of which has delivered this message. I have long lost hope that they will ever be able to do anything right, so I have decided to seek outside help. I have heard much about your prowess and believe that you three will be able to succeed where my own minions have failed. I want the Valley's leader dead and am willing to pay you a large sum in return. If you accept this mission, my messenger will lead you back to my mountain and I will give you the details._

There was a short moment of silence as the trio let the contents of the message sink in.

"Is he talking about The Valley of Peace?" Wan asked. "Because there's no way I'm going up against Grand Master Oogway. We're not _that _desperate."

"I don't think so," Su replied. "I've never heard of this "Dragon's Mountain" and the message says it's right next to it."

"I can't believe there's an entire _army _of these guys," Wing said, gesturing to the monkey still grasped in her paw. "Small wonder why they're on the losing side."

Su took another sip of tea, considering their options. Honestly, it wasn't a hard decision. "We have finally been given an opportunity, sisters. It would be foolish to turn it down, even if the mission _is _a bit…strange."

"Understatement of the dynasty right there," Wing said, finally dropping her captive to the ground. As the monkey slowly stood back up, Su looked down at him with an evil grin.

"We accept. Lead the way."

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_Please remember to leave a review. It would be greatly appreciated._


	2. Unease

_Author's Note: Something I forgot to mention in the first chapter is that I have taken MAJOR artistic license with the Wu Sisters' personalities. As much as I enjoyed "Secrets of the Masters", one thing that disappointed me is that Su Wu was the only one given any real personality. I rewatched the special before writing this and noticed that Wan only had two lines of dialogue and Wing just one._

_With the tone used for Wan's lines, I got the impression that she was the perky and cheerful type, so I went with that. I didn't get any such "hints" from Wing, so I just decided to make her the violent hothead type._

_In short, they're basically the PowerPuff girls combined with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee __from Avater: the Last Airbender._

_Please read and review._

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Chapter 2: Unease

It was mid-afternoon in the Valley as Master Panda sat in his usual dojo. Sitting next to him was Fox, one of the Valley's finest warriors. The two watched as Panda's apprentice Skunk practiced his kung fu skills on a wooden training dummy. Panda frowned as he noticed Skunk's form starting to get sloppy, something that was happening much more than usual lately. He blamed this on the fact that Skunk had not been on a real mission for far too long.

Ever since his old friend Dragon had first betrayed the Heavens and swore vengeance on the Valley, he had made countless attempts to exact that vengeance. All of these attempts failed of course, but Dragon's army of Ninja Monkeys was determined and relentless. It was rare for the Valley to go a few days without some kind of monkey attack. Yet, for just over two _weeks_ now, the monkeys had done absolutely nothing. No attacks, no raids, no activity whatsoever. Never had there been such a long pause between attacks before and that concerned him greatly. In fact, it was this issue that he was currently discussing with Fox.

"So what do you think is going on?" she asked.

"I see only two possibilities: either the monkeys have finally given up or…"

"…they're planning something," Fox finished. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out which is more likely."

Panda shook his head. "But that still wouldn't explain it completely. If they really were planning an attack of some kind, they would still be doing _something _suspicious. This complete inaction makes no sense."

"Maybe they're just trying to get us to let our guards down," Fox guessed.

"Perhaps, but we can't make assumptions, either." Panda paused to consider what could be done to resolve this problem and spoke again. "I am sending you and Rabbit on a mission. You will infiltrate Dragon's Mountain and find out what is going on."

Fox was about to respond, but someone else beat her to it. "A mission? Awesome!"

Panda winced. He was _really_ hoping Skunk wouldn't overhear that. A second later, Panda's student rushed up, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Please let me go too! Please, please, please, please, please!"

"No."

Skunk's excitement died instantly. "Aww, come on!" he whined. "It's been sooooooo long since I last went on a mission."

"As much as I would like you to get some real experience again, this particular mission will be far too dangerous for someone so out of practice."

"I'm not out of practice!" Skunk protested. "I've been keeping up with my training every day."

Panda raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because, as of now, you're about thirty seconds behind."

Skunk looked back over at the neglected training dummy. "Well…yeah, but–"

"The answer is no, Skunk. Now get back to your training."

"Yes, Master…" Skunk gave a dejected sigh and slumped back over to the training dummy. He turned back to Fox. "Do you accept your mission?"

"Of course, Master. We will head out tonight." With that, Fox gave a bow and went off to inform Rabbit. Panda watched her leave, not noticing the sly smile on Skunk's face.

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Many miles away, at the summit of Dragon's Mountain, Baboon was currently pacing back in forth in the middle of the Ninja Monkey base camp. Unlike the Valley animals, he knew perfectly well why the monkeys hadn't been active for so long and he was not the least bit happy about it. "I can't believe this," he muttered to the nearest monkey. "We have spent over a decade faithfully serving Dragon and how does he repay us? By _replacing_ us!"

The monkey chattered.

"Just because we haven't had a lot of success, that doesn't mean we're incapable."

The monkey chattered again.

"_No, it doesn't!_ We're perfectly capable of destroying the Valley-dwellers by ourselves! …We just haven't done it yet, that's all."

He turned to the monkey and bent down to yell in his face. "But we're never going to get that chance if those Wu Sisters actually manage to kill Panda! Do you have any idea what that's going to mean for us?" The monkey nodded and chattered enthusiastically. "No, it does _not _mean we're going to throw a huge party! It _means _that we're all going to be _fired_! The only question is whether it will be figuratively or literally!"

He turned around and muttered to himself. "Oh, who am I kidding? It'll probably be both."

On some level, Baboon knew he was being irrational. After all, Dragon would still need someone to retain his control over the Valley after Panda's death and the Wu Sisters would have no reason to stick around any longer than that. But simple victory over the Valley was not enough for him. He wanted to be the one to take the credit for that victory, not some lowlife assassins.

Before he could rant any further, a second monkey ran over and chattered the message that he had been dreading: The "guests of honor" had arrived.

"Open the gates," he growled. As the monkeys ran off to do so, Baboon promised himself that he would not let all of his hard work be for nothing. He was going to keep his position of power one way or another…

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	3. Preperations

_Author's Note: The first two chapters were a bit too short for my liking, so I worked on making this one a little longer._

_Enjoy!_

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Chapter 3: Preparations

The journey to Dragon's Mountain had been pretty uneventful for the Wu Sisters, though they were rather annoyed that the trip took about a week, something that the message conveniently didn't mention. Su was actually a bit impressed that their monkey guide had been able to make such a long journey by himself, considering his obvious lack of intelligence or social skills. For the sake of concealment, the sisters were currently wearing billowing blue cloaks and straw hats over their regular outfits. In case they were being watched, they didn't want to give the enemy any hint of what they were dealing with until it was too late.

As they approached the top of the mountain, she was again impressed by the sight of the large log wall that surrounded the Ninja Monkey base camp. It was rather crudely designed, but still looked pretty difficult to penetrate. Of course, the sisters could do it easily, but that would probably be considered rude. Not that Wing cared about being rude. "How long does it take to open a stupid gate?!" she yelled. The week of traveling had made her temperament even worse than usual.

A few seconds later, the wooden gate lowered to the ground and a tall primate sporting white fur stepped out. Like the monkey who had guided them here, he sported nothing else. Neither did the multitude of monkeys surrounding him. "So is this some kind of nudist colony, or what?" Wan whispered. "Don't get me wrong. If there are any cute boys around here, that might not be so bad…"

Su tuned out her youngest sister out as the primate spoke. "Welcome, Wu Sisters," he said with obviously forced enthusiasm. "My name is Baboon. I am-"

"We don't care who you are," Wing said bluntly. "Take us to Dragon."

For a few seconds, Baboon's only response was a hateful glare before he turned around and started walking ahead. "Follow me."

As the trio followed after Baboon, Su took a look around the campground. What appeared to be at least dozens of Ninja Monkeys were standing around, staring at the newcomers. It just occurred to Su how out-of-place they must have looked here.

"Hurry up! Do you want the Valleys' spies to see you out here?" Baboon called out from in front of them.

"I don't think he likes us," Wan whispered again.

"Fine with me," Wing said. "I don't like him either."

The group continued up a staircase at the edge of the camp that led inside the mountain. They found themselves at the top of a large chamber, looking down at a pool of icy water. Another staircase led down to a small platform at the bottom of the chamber.

"I've been wondering something, Baboon," Su said as they started descending. Baboon just turned to glare at her again.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Exactly why is your master called "Dragon", anyway?"

Baboon's malicious look turned to one of confusion. "What do you mean? It's because he's a dragon."

"A komodo dragon?"

"No, just the regular kind."

The group came to a stop on the small platform. "…You don't mean the flying, fire-breathing kind, right?"

"Well, he can't actually fly anymore, but yeah."

"Okay, THAT'S IT!" Wing shouted, grabbing Baboon by the throat and lifting him above the ground. "Are you seriously trying to tell us that we're being hired by a mythical creature?!"

Baboon looked like he was about to wet himself when a booming voice suddenly shook the cavern. "Mythical am I?" The Wu Sisters looked on with awe as a towering, black and grey dragon rose from the icy water to stare down at them.

"Huh. How about that," Wing said, so shocked that she dropped Baboon. Even Su was having trouble keeping her jaw up.

"Welcome to my mountain, Wu Sisters," Dragon spoke. "It's so good to have you here."

"He never talks to _me _like that," Baboon grumbled.

"Let's get down to business. As I have already told you, your target is the leader of the Valley. His name is Master Panda."

Wing snorted. "A panda_?_ A kung fu master_? _That's just stupid." Su frowned. Apparently, not even a dragon could command respect from her middle sister.

"Do not underestimate him," Dragon growled. "I can assure you he is one of the most powerful kung fu masters you'll ever meet." Wing clearly wasn't buying it, but Su decided to speak up before she said something that would get her killed.

"Is there anyone else we need to watch out for besides Panda?"

Dragon nodded. "Panda is one of four masters known as the Valley elders, who are all about as powerful as he is. Their names are Duck, Crane, and Turtle. There are also two warriors known as Fox and Rabbit who are former students of Panda. They are also highly skilled."

"Just to clarify, is…_everyone _here named after their species?"

"Yes."

"Alright then." Su really didn't know why anything surprised her at this point.

Dragon continued. "However, you will be striking in the dead of night and will have the element of surprise. They should all be asleep at the time and not be a threat. The only one you'll really have to worry about is Panda's apprentice, Skunk."

"What the heck is a skunk?" Wan asked.

"We're not really sure," Dragon said. "He came to the Valley about ten years ago. He's a black and white animal, so the stork apparently mistook Panda for the boy's father and dropped him off." Wing looked like she was about to lose it again so Su reached over and gave her tail a sharp yank. Wing yelped and turned to glare at her, but seemed to get the message. "Anyway, he is a formidable fighter despite his age, so be wary of him."

"Will do," Su sighed, thinking this contract was getting more and more ridiculous by the second. "So when do we depart?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?!" Baboon yelled. "But they just got here! They should…uh…get some rest and…you know, look around the place."

"We've still got plenty of time to rest and we've seen more than enough of this place already. Tonight is just fine," Su said, ignoring the glare Baboon shot at her.

"Excellent. You are dismissed."

"Not so fast!" Wing snapped. "What about our payment?" Su put a paw to her head. She should have known that nothing would keep Wing from speaking her mind.

A tense silence filled the room as Dragon and Wing stared each other down, each looking ready to tear the other apart. Baboon nervously tried to distance himself from them, but the small space didn't let him get very far. Su and Wan did the opposite, unsheathing their claws and preparing themselves for a fight. They didn't care how powerful Dragon was, they would attack him the second he tried to hurt their sister.

"Of course," Dragon finally said, making them all relax. He turned his gaze down towards the icy water and started muttering to himself. A few seconds later, the water glowed as what appeared to be a large green emerald slowly rose out of it. "This is one of my most powerful magical crystals, making it extremely valuable. Sell it and you will surely receive the "large sum" I promised you."

Now Su was pissed as well. She hated when their employers tried to twist their agreements like this. "Fine, but it had _better _be valuable." Without waiting to be dismissed again, the Wu Sisters turned and exited the cave, Wing casually shoving Baboon into the ice water on the way out.

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As nighttime descended upon the Valley, Master Panda sat down next to his log and gave a yawn. He closed his eyes and, in only a matter of moments, was fast asleep. Despite his status as a powerful kung fu master, Panda was also known to be a very heavy sleeper.

This was exactly what Skunk was counting on.

Panda's apprentice slowly climbed down from his tree and, after making sure that his master was indeed asleep, took off down the hill. He lost count of how many times he had snuck away from Panda to do something exciting, but it had become very easy with practice. He had a lot more trouble getting _back _without being caught. For some reason, Panda always seemed to know that he had been gone. That worked just fine for him as he would still get what he wanted in the end: action.

Two weeks wasn't a very long time, but for a ten-year-old like Skunk, it was an eternity. He couldn't wait for the chance to finally go on a real mission again, even if it was just a spying mission. A large part of him hoped that he would still get to kick some monkey butt in the process. He darted into the forest, keeping his senses alert for any sign of Fox and Rabbit. It was only about ten minutes before he was able to locate them the easiest way possible: by listening for their bickering.

"I can't believe Panda sent _you_ on this mission, too," came Rabbit's gruff voice. "I can handle this on my own."

"Frankly, I think the only reason _I'm_ here is to make sure _you _don't blow your cover," Fox responded. "Stealth isn't exactly your cup of tea…"

"What?! I can sneak with the best of them!"

"Can not."

"Can too!"

Skunk smiled to himself as he watched the argument from the inside of a nearby bush. There was something about watching Fox and Rabbit go at it that always amused him. He tried readjusting his position a little to get a better look and accidently stepped on a twig.

SNAP!

Fox and Rabbit froze instantly. "Uh oh," Skunk muttered to himself as they turned and tackled him, sending him out of the bush and on to the ground. He looked up to see Fox staring down at him with disapproval.

Skunk chuckled nervously. "Um…surprise?"

"No, not really."

"Squirt, you do this so often, we would have been more surprised if you _didn't _show up."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," Skunk said as he got up off the ground. "So then you already know why I'm here?"

"Yes, and you're still not coming with us," Fox said sternly.

"Actually, I don't think we really have a choice," Rabbit pointed out. "Either we bring the kid along, or we take him back to Panda and lose a lot of time. Plus, he'd probably just sneak back out again anyway."

"Yeah, I totally would," Skunk shamelessly admitted. Fox just gave him another disapproving look before she sighed.

"Alright, you can come. But remember that we're only going to _spy _on the monkeys, _not _fight them."

Skunk didn't hear anything after the first sentence. "Yes!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Finally, he was going to be getting some action again.

If he had any idea what he would be facing that night, he would have gladly stayed home.


	4. Confrontations

_Author's Note: Finally, I get another chapter out. I'm not even that happy with it, but I hope you like it anyway._

_I'd also like to give a shout-out to my first reviewer, Invader Glow. Thank you for being awesome._

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Chapter 4: Confrontations

Nighttime came quickly on Dragon's Mountain. After a few hours of planning, training, and abusing their power over the Ninja Monkeys to get the kind of pampering a trio of felines deserved, the Wu Sisters were ready to head out. They left their cloaks and hats behind in one of the tents, and made a beeline for the camp gate, continuing to discuss the details of their mission on the way. Despite Su's best efforts, the conversation shifted towards Dragon, and Wing instantly jumped at the chance. "Can you believe that guy?" she asked. "I thought dragons were supposed to be noble."

"What do you mean? I thought he was pretty polite," Wan said, puzzled. "Well, not to _you_, but that was kinda your fault." Su wisely decided to step in.

"Sisters, please. Let's try to remain focused here. Our target is a highly-skilled kung fu master, even if he is just a panda, and…" She suddenly paused mid-speech. An evil grin spread across her muzzle as an idea began to form in her head, one so twisted that it put many of her past ideas to shame. "…Now why didn't I think of that before?"

"Think of _what_ before?" Wan asked curiously.

"Oh, just a little contingency plan I'm cooking up. You see-"

"Not _you _again." Wing growled. Su and Wan looked back ahead and immediately saw the source of Wing's ire. Standing in front of the wooden gate, flanked by about two dozen Ninja monkeys, was Baboon. He had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. "Going somewhere, ladies?"

"Oh, I'll tell you where we're going," Wing snarled, stepping towards him. "Right through your pompous little a-ACK!" Wing looked back to see that Su had again yanked her tail. "Will you stop doing that?!"

"Sorry, but I can't let you kill him."

"Why not?"

"Because he works for our employer. We don't need any _more _reason to get on his bad side." Wing didn't miss the jab directed at her and looked away. Su stepped past her and over towards Baboon. "What exactly do you want, anyway? Aren't we on the same side here?"

Baboon scowled at her. "I'm afraid not. I've got a good thing going with Dragon and I'm not about to let you three ruin it!"

Su laughed. "Clearly, Dragon doesn't think your "good thing" is so good. We didn't hire _ourselves, _you know."

Baboon snarled and started marching over to her. Wan, ever the peacekeeper, immediately stepped in between them. "Now hold on, guys. Let's all just calm down here and talk about this."

"Out of my way!" Baboon yelled as he shoved the youngest Wu aside. Caught off guard, Wan tripped and landed hard on her side with a cry of pain. Baboon took a second to smirk down at her before turning to look back at Su.

Just in time to see her claws rake across his face.

Baboon hollered in pain as he clutched his face, now sporting three bright red claw marks. Before he had the chance to do anything else, Su followed up with a kick that sent him flying into the gate with enough force to crash through it. He landed just outside, half-buried in a pile of snow. While Wing immediately rushed to Wan's side, Su snarled and followed after Baboon, the gaping monkeys making no move to stop her.

Baboon groaned and tried to get up, but Su stepped onto his chest and forced him back down into the snow. She leaned in to glare at him, their faces only inches apart. Baboon gulped as he saw the murderous rage in her eyes. "I may have told Wing to let you live, but touch one of my sisters again and I will_ personally_ tear your throat out! Understand?"

Baboon took a little too long to answer. "UNDERSTAND?!"

"Y-Y-Yes, I u-understand," he whimpered.

"Good." Su got off of the downed primate and turned back to see her sisters coming up behind her. "Are you okay?" she asked Wan, her anger fading into concern.

"I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than that to keep me down," Wan replied, giving a bright smile. Su couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now let's get going. We have a bear-skin rug to make."

"Su, I love you, but some of the stuff you say really creeps me out."

Baboon watched the Wu Sisters turn and dash into the forest, before glaring back at the monkeys. "Thanks for the help, guys!"

One of the monkeys replied with chattering that roughly translated to, "Screw that. You're on your own." Baboon sighed and looked back at the forest, his anger now thoroughly replaced with fear. Gods, that woman made Dragon look downright peaceful! He still wanted to stop them, _needed_ to stop them, but how the heck was he supposed to do that now?!

Sometimes, he felt like the universe just really hated him. "Wasabi."

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It had only been about ten minutes since Skunk joined up with Fox and Rabbit and the three Valley animals were now making their way through the forest towards Dragon's Mountain. Not taking any chances, they were already trying to conceal themselves, moving swiftly yet silently through the treetops.

Suddenly, Rabbit's large ears twitched. "Someone's coming," he said, causing them all to stop on a branch. Skunk and Fox didn't hear anything, but they knew better than to doubt Rabbit's sensitive hearing.

It was only a few seconds later that three figures came into view below them, running on all fours. Shortly afterwards, they slowed to a crawl, clearly favoring stealth over speed. They were distinctly feline, with grey fur and black spots, matching their nearly identical outfits.

"Woah," Skunk whispered. "Those are _definitely _not Ninja monkeys."

"Quiet down, they're saying something," Rabbit whispered back. Going silent, the three were able to faintly hear the felines talking with each other.

"-go over it one more time. We'll spread out around our target and slowly converge from three sides. If all goes well, we'll slit his throat, and that will be that."

"Except that he's a kung fu master, so you _know_ it won't be that easy."

"Will you quit being such a downer? We're the best throat-slitters in China. It'll be fine."

Skunk's eyes widened. "They're after Master Panda," he gasped.

"It seems like it," Fox said, trying to hide the fear in her voice. They all knew what Panda's death would mean for the Valley. "We have to get out of here and warn him about this. Then we can-"

"Forget it." Rabbit growled. "I have waited way too long for the chance to kick butt again. Whoever these guys are, they're going down."

"But we don't even know who they are. They could be too much for us to handle," Fox argued. "Skunk, you agree with me right?"

Skunk shuffled his feet sheepishly. He hated when Fox and Rabbit tried to drag him into their arguments. "Actually…I kinda want to fight them too."

Rabbit smirked. "Looks like you've been outvoted, Foxie." He turned and leapt out of the tree to intercept the felines. Skunk gave an apologetic look and followed after him.

"Boys," Fox huffed before leaping down as well. By the time she joined her comrades, the three felines were already on their feet and glaring at their opposition.

Now that they were face-to-face, Skunk could make out their new enemies more clearly. Two of the felines wore bandages over their ears with one going the extra step of wearing them over her mouth as well. But it was the third feline, the apparent leader, that stood out to him the most, mainly due to her eyes. Skunk didn't know what was creepier about those eyes: that they were two different colors, or the way they were radiating pure murderous intent.

"Another hold-up? My goodness, we are just having terrible luck tonight," the creepy one said, seeming strangely pleased by this.

The masked one looked them over with a grimace. "It seems like the Valley-dwellers don't appreciate clothing either. I am _never _going to get used to that."

"Who are you?" Fox demanded.

The creepy one hesitated a moment before answering. "You already know what we're planning, so I guess it doesn't matter if you know who we are. I am Su Wu. These are my sisters, Wing and Wan," Su pointed to each of her sisters as she introduced them, Wan giving a smile and wave as she did so. "We are the Wu Sisters, the greatest assassins this country has ever seen. And you…must be Fox, Rabbit, and…Skunk, correct?"

"You know our names?"

"Of course we do, silly boy. Dragon told us all about you three. We hear that you're supposed to be some of the best warriors this place has to offer. Of course, I would hate to make assumptions, so…" the sisters instantly dropped into fighting stances, claws unsheathed. "…let's find out firsthand, shall we?"

The Valley animals dropped into their own stances and Rabbit gave a cocky smirk.

"Bring it on."

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	5. Predators and Prey

_Author's Note: Another chapter that took me way too long to write, not because of laziness, but because writing fight scenes turned out to be MUCH harder than I expected. On the plus side, I'm very pleased with the result._

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Chapter 5: Predators and Prey

The large, expansive forest that separated the Valley from Dragon's Mountain was normally a very peaceful place. The residents of the Valley would often come here to meditate and listen to the sounds of the forest. If they were to listen right now however, they would only hear the sounds of the ongoing battle being waged in its center.

Rabbit held his ground as Wing Wu came at him with a slash of her claws. He ducked the attack and delivered a punch to her stomach, which she countered with a kick that sent him tumbling across the ground, slightly dazed. He regained his focus just in time to see Wing leaping down at him and rolled out of the way as she drove her claws into the dirt. It took her a second to pull them back out, giving Rabbit enough time to land a spinning kick across her masked face.

"You're not bad. For a bunny," the assassin said, a hint of respect in her eyes.

"You're not bad either. For a girl." The respect vanished instantly.

"YOU'RE DEAD, PUNK!" she yelled, lunging at him again.

Rabbit braced himself for another assault, but Wing surprised him by leaping over his head at the last second. He barely had time to turn around before he felt himself being grabbed by the ears and lifted off the ground. Wing held him at out arm's length and watched with amusement as he launched a flurry of punches and kicks at her, his current position preventing any of them from even coming close to hitting her. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," she chuckled, launching her own volley of punches at him. Rabbit was able to block a few strikes, but most of them got through, leaving several unsightly bruises and a missing tooth.

"What now, tough guy?" Wing mocked.

Instead of getting angry as she expected, Rabbit just shot her another cocky smirk. Taking a closer look, Wing realized that sometime during her onslaught, Rabbit had somehow managed to grab ahold of her spotted tail and was now holding it in front of his face. "This."

He bit down.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!" Wing instinctively turned and hurled Rabbit through the air, but he was able to land on his feet.

"You're not the only one who likes to fight dirty," he said, still smirking.

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On the opposite end of the clearing, Fox and Wan Wu were fighting an entirely different kind of battle. As the two most swift and agile fighters, they had yet to land a single hit on each other. Fox was getting increasingly annoyed by this, but Wan seemed to be having the time of her life, her cheerful smile not leaving her muzzle for a second.

"This is fun!" she said, dodging another punch from Fox. "It's like a game. A game where no one can score."

Fox had no time for games. Back-flipping over a sweeping kick from Wan, she landed a few feet away and reached behind her back, pulling out her trusty pair of red war fans.

Wan titled her head curiously. "Where were you keeping those?"

Fox swung both fans in Wan's direction, creating a large gust of wind that knocked her off her feet and into the treetops. She propelled herself after the leopard with another gust, but Wan was able to stab her claws into a tree trunk as she flew by, effectively stopping herself in mid-air. Fox didn't have time to change her course and flew straight into Wan's waiting foot, knocking her onto a nearby branch.

"That's one point for me!" Wan giggled, dislodging her claws from the tree and jumping onto the same branch.

Fox attempted another wind attack, but this time Wan was ready for it. She dug her claws into the branch as the gust hit, barely moving an inch this time. Still on all fours, she charged at Fox and attempted to literally pounce on the vulpine. With no room to get out of the way, Fox intentionally fell onto her back as Wan sailed over her, planting her feet on the cat's chest and flinging her back into the tree trunk, head-first. Even this didn't dampen her smile.

"Hey, it looks like we're tied now! Good job!"

Fox just raised an eyebrow, wondering what on Earth was wrong with this girl.

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Back on the ground, Skunk was launching a series of flying punches and kicks at Su Wu, who was clearly not taking him the least bit seriously. Arms folded behind her back, the assassin leader was calmly sidestepping every strike, not even pretending to be impressed.

"Is this the best you can do, kid? I thought you were supposed to be something special."

Skunk growled and tried yet another punch. Quick as lightning, one of Su's paws shot out from behind her back and caught his fist in mid-air. He immediately tried punching with his other fist and got the same result.

"Hmm…I guess so. Disappointing."

Still holding Skunk's fists, Su brought her leg up and kneed him in the gut before roughly throwing him to the ground. He struggled to catch his breath, but quickly scrambled back to his feet again, expecting another attack. When none came, he looked over to see Su casually checking her claws as if nothing had happened. An incredibly annoyed Skunk gave a yell and charged at her again. If there was any doubt left in his mind that the leopard was mocking him, it was instantly cleared when she suddenly turned around and slapped him across the face with…with…

"Was that your _tail?!" _Su just smiled at him, said appendage waving lazily behind her.

That's it!" Skunk shouted, launching an uppercut. Su titled her head back to avoid the attack, and then brought it sharply forward again to nail Skunk with a vicious headbutt.

"Haven't you heard, kid? We cats love to _play_ with our prey."

Skunk tried to get up again only for Su to grab him by the chest and slam him into a tree. She raised one arm above her head, claws gleaming in the moonlight and poised to slash the young warrior's throat open. Skunk felt mortal terror well up inside of him, not at all helped by the psychotic grin on the feline's muzzle.

"But now it's time to die."

As Su brought her claws down, all Skunk could do was close his eyes and wait for the end to come.

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The other four fighters immediately stopped in their tracks when a shrill scream suddenly cut through the air. Fox felt her heart turn cold, immediately fearing the worst. It wasn't until she turned towards the source of the sound that she realized it wasn't Skunk who had screamed.

Su Wu was engulfed in a cloud of green gas, clutching her nose and coughing violently. She released her hold on Skunk, who wisely took the opportunity to get as far away from her as possible. Fox's relief was cut short when she caught a whiff of the highly offensive odor now filling the area. She clamped a paw over her own nose, quickly followed by Rabbit and the other Wu Sisters, who had now forgotten about their fight altogether.

"Ugh! What is that _smell_?!" Wing cried.

"Sorry," Skunk said bashfully, looking down at his feet. A second later, his attention was brought elsewhere.

"Squirt, watch out!" Rabbit yelled. Skunk heard his warning and got out of the way just in time to avoid getting his head taken off by a claw slash from the now furious eldest sister. He fell onto his butt and fearfully backed away as Su slowly advanced on him.

"You…are _so_ dead!" she snarled. Her watery eyes looked more murderous than ever. "Do you hear me, kid?! YOU ARE SO…dead…" She gave one last weak cough and promptly fainted.

"SU!" both of the younger Wu Sisters yelled out. Fox was surprised by the genuine concern she heard in their voices. Meanwhile, Rabbit was making an entirely different observation. Namely, that their opponents were off-guard.

Wing had just enough time to shout before Rabbit landed a hard kick to her face. Fox quickly followed suit and launched another wind gust at the unprepared Wan, knocking her clear off the tree branch. The blast was aimed in just the right way so that she landed right on top of the staggering Wing, sending both cats to the ground in a jumbled heap.

"Let's get out of here!" Rabbit shouted. Skunk and Fox didn't need to think twice about that, rushing past the downed sisters and making a beeline for the Valley.

Wing and Wan slowly got back to their feet and shared a worried look, knowing that they had a decision to make. They could either go after the Valley animals and leave Su behind, or get Su to safety and potentially jeopardize their mission.

They stared at each for a few more seconds until they made their decision and ran to Su's side.

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End file.
